Easter eggs hidden around Boston ahead of the marathon contain a special surprise
"The goal is just to spread love, spread joy. There's a little message inside that says keep one bracelet and pass the next on to someone you see," said Julianna Manzi.
Manzi started beading name bracelets in 2020 when her firstborn was in the NICU.
"It was during COVID and I needed a hobby so I started beading bracelets for friends and family," said Manzi. "So there was no intent to have a business."
But, demand grew so fast that Julianna couldn't keep up. The customizable name bracelets are now handmade by a team of women in Rhode Island.
"Every bracelet that we sell gives back."
Julianna's business, called
"Names for Good,"
has now donated more than $250,000 to different charities. This weekend, with Easter and the Boston Marathon back-to-back, she came up with the idea called "Eggs for Good." Julianna and her daughters are hiding 2,500 eggs at Boston landmarks, cafes and along the streets. The hope is to put a smile on the faces of those who find them.
"You never know what someone's going through so whether you're running a marathon and that's a monumental challenge or you're facing your own small challenge- these are meant to be just little beacons of joy and happiness that you can wear on your wrist and feel strength or happiness when you look at it."
The eggs will be hidden through Marathon Monday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
mRNA mayhem
Good morning!🙋🏼♀️ I'm Nicole Fallert. BRB, checking out Instagram's new features. RFK Jr. is canceling mRNA vaccine development Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. revealed his agency will be cutting funding to mRNA development, the vaccine technology used in the two most common COVID-19 vaccines licensed in the U.S. What we're talking about: Messenger RNA works by instructing the body's immune system to recognize the virus and creating fighting antibodies to attack it. These vaccines contain only a fraction of the virus, so unlike some vaccines, they can't give people the disease they're trying to prevent or trigger allergies. Fort Stewart shooting is latest US military base attack in recent years An Army sergeant shot and wounded five fellow soldiers Wednesday at the Fort Stewart military base in Georgia, the latest in a growing number of violent, and sometimes deadly, incidents at U.S. military bases over the years. Officials did not provide further details on what led to the incident, but Army Brig. Gen. John Lubas said the suspect, Quornelius Radford, 28, used a personal handgun, not a military firearm. Fellow soldiers responded swiftly, tackling him to the ground. Other military bases have also experienced mass shootings in recent years. More news to know now What's the weather today? Check your local forecast here. Trump's tariffs take effect Thursday President Donald Trump's higher tariff rates of 10% to 50% on dozens of trading partners kicked in Thursday, testing his strategy for shrinking U.S. trade deficits without massive disruptions to global supply chains, higher inflation and stiff retaliation from trading partners. U.S. Customs and Border Protection began collecting the higher tariffs at 12:01 a.m. ET after weeks of suspense over Trump's final tariff rates and frantic negotiations with major trading partners that sought to lower them. Meanwhile, costs from Trump's tariff war are mounting for a wide swath of companies, including bellwethers Caterpillar, Marriott, Molson Coors and Yum Brands. USA TODAY breaks down the tariffs. Texas Democrats evacuate amid bomb threat Some of the Texas Democrats who fled their state to try to block Republicans' redistricting efforts were evacuated from an Illinois hotel where they were staying over a bomb threat. Texas House Rep. John Bucy III, one of the Democrats at the hotel, told USA TODAY that many legislators were still asleep when the alarm went off in the morning and that the group gathered outside. He said it took about two hours before everything was cleared up and they were allowed to safely reenter. Today's talkers Why are people tossing sex toys onto the court at WNBA games? The latest toss of a sex toy came during Tuesday night's game between the Indiana Fever and the Los Angeles Sparks at Arena in L.A. With two minutes remaining in the second quarter, the neon green toy landed on the court in the lane near Fever forward Sophie Cunningham, who earlier in the week went on social media to plead with fans not to throw things on the floor and posted another reaction after the game. Sparks guard Kelsey Plum took it upon herself to get rid of it by kicking it into the stands. It's the third such incident in the past two weeks where a sex toy was thrown on the court of a WNBA game — and the league is issuing warnings and ejecting fans. Photo of the day: Meet Plesionectes longicollum Paleontology researchers in Europe have identified Plesionectes longicollum, a new species of ancient marine reptile that existed nearly 183 million years ago. What did the newly discovered Jurassic sea monster eat? Nicole Fallert is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY, sign up for the email here. Want to send Nicole a note? Shoot her an email at NFallert@
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Oil Traders Race Against Time to Solve a Global Diesel Crunch
(Bloomberg) -- The oil market is pulling all the levers it can to ease a global diesel crunch, but the window is narrowing to replenish stockpiles of the world's workhorse fuel before hurricanes and refinery maintenance curtail output. All Hail the Humble Speed Hump Mayor Asked to Explain $1.4 Billion of Wasted Johannesburg Funds Three Deaths Reported as NYC Legionnaires' Outbreak Spreads Major Istanbul Projects Are Stalling as City Leaders Sit in Jail PATH Train Service Resumes After Fire at Jersey City Station From the US Gulf Coast to Rotterdam and Singapore, storage tanks have only recently started rising from dramatically low levels, and traders say it's going to be a tight race to refill them. With price spikes during the Israel-Iran conflict fresh in the memory, most say it's hard to see a major easing, echoing warnings from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and energy giant TotalEnergies SE. The fate of the fuel has wide-reaching ramifications for the global economy. Higher prices can ripple through inflation readings and dent consumer and business confidence at a time when US President Donald Trump's tariff wars also raise costs. American farmers will need large volumes of diesel to power their tractors and grain dryers during harvesting season in the fall, and drivers are already paying the most at the pump in about a year. Meanwhile, Trump's push to punish India for processing Russian crude into much needed global diesel supplies leaves Europe particularly vulnerable. The continent has become more dependent on fuel from further afield after direct imports from nearby Russia were banned. 'We're bullish for the end of the year,' said Rami Ramadan, co-head of global middle distillates at commodity trader BB Energy. 'We are going to be in for some shocks for sure because of how Europe has been disconnected from its closest sources of supply.' US stockpiles of diesel's family of fuels — used in everything from locomotives and trucks to power generation and heating — plunged to their lowest summer levels this century. While inventories should normally build over the summer, longer-term factors have made things more acute in the last few years. A slew of plant closures in the US and Europe since the Covid-driven oil market crash has tightened supplies in key hubs. Even as high margins lead refiners like Phillips 66 and Valero Energy to maximize diesel output, US inventories have only in recent weeks inched past the critical lows seen in the summer of 2022, just after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. In Europe buyers await tankers from the Middle East and Asia. After touching the equivalent of $110 a barrel following Israel's air strikes on Iran, prices have retreated closer to $90. Diesel's strength over the summer helped support crude prices while OPEC+ restored production faster than initially planned. Before the war in Ukraine, European diesel seldom traded $15 a barrel above Brent crude. Ever since, it has rarely traded at less than that. The spread, known in market parlance as a crack, is currently above $20 in Europe and around $30 in the US. Goldman Sachs expects both spreads to stay near current levels into 2026 'on continuing structural tightness in refining capacity,' and TotalEnergies said stronger diesel prices will become a 'persistent feature' of the global oil market. 'Heading into hurricane season, if we have some type of supply disruption, I think you'll see a pretty significant market reaction with inventories as low as they are,' Gary Simmons, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Valero, said on an earnings call. 'We expect diesel cracks to remain strong.' Diesel is part of a group of refined products known as middle distillates, which includes jet fuel and heating oil. High demand from the aviation sector has also tightened the balance of supplies, and a cold winter could do the same. 'Over the next three to four months, we're quite constructive on diesel cracks being sustained at levels similar to where they're at today,' Marathon Petroleum Corp.'s Chief Commercial Officer Rick Hessling said on an earnings call, adding that trucking and agriculture demand is 'very healthy.' Not all traders are bullish, though, as there has been some relief in the past few weeks. As well as stockpiles showing signs of recovering, more diesel and jet fuel cargoes left Asia and the Middle East for Europe in July than any time in the last 11 months, according to Kpler data. One diesel-laden supertanker of two million barrels is currently sailing to Europe, and another has been booked, according to a person involved in the flows, adding momentum to the resupply. 'One of the things we're doing is watching the Mideast and India, where the global net-distillate length exists for potential imports into Europe,' Brian Mandell, executive vice president of marketing and commercial at Phillips 66, said on an earnings call. Mandell said that prices are likely to eventually ease as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its partners add extra supplies of heavy crude that's better for making diesel. But it takes time for the group to go from targets to actual production, and then for the barrels to be shipped, processed into diesel and finally reach the fuel's buyers. 'We would think that distillate margins will remain strong through the year, eventually coming off some when you get these extra barrels — heavy crude barrels — back onto the market,' he said. --With assistance from Devika Krishna Kumar, Jack Wittels, Rachel Graham, Archie Hunter and Prejula Prem. Russia's Secret War and the Plot to Kill a German CEO The Pizza Oven Startup With a Plan to Own Every Piece of the Pie AI Flight Pricing Can Push Travelers to the Limit of Their Ability to Pay A High-Rise Push Is Helping Mumbai Squeeze in Pools, Gyms and Greenery Government Steps Up Campaign Against Business School Diversity ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Business of Fashion
7 hours ago
- Business of Fashion
Shiseido's Identity Crisis
10 years ago, Shiseido ratified a new tagline to describe its expansive ambitions to 'Be a Global Winner With Our Heritage,' commencing a period of international expansion that was going well until it wasn't. A perfectly terrible storm was waiting on the horizon. The company's largest markets of Japan, China and the US, alongside travel retail, were hit the hardest; Sephora tweens came and went; major acquisitions were reversed and executives shuffled in and out, unable to stem losses or steward the business forward. 'Shiseido has suffered, I'd say, more than any other beauty conglomerate with the slowdown of the Asia Pacific market,' said Rishum Butt, a beauty industry consultant. Net sales for 2024 totaled ¥990 billion ($6.7 billion), down from $10 billion five years ago, but the loss is more profound — the value of the yen has lost more than a third of its value in that time. 'Things might seem OK' on paper, said Butt, 'but what that's disguising is actually a big[ger] issue, which is that they're overexposed to a market which has no clear sign of recovering anytime soon.' ADVERTISEMENT The latter half of the 2010s was a golden age for Japan's largest and the world's oldest beauty company, which saw sales of over $10 billion and an all-time peak in its stock price. By 2019, it had not only three prized possessions in Shiseido, Clé de Peau and Nars but had made a number of acquisitions to penetrate the US market, including prestige makeup brands Laura Mercier, Bareminerals and Buxom and the skincare label Drunk Elephant, for which they paid nearly $1 billion in 2019. At the same time, the company grew more reliant on its China and travel retail segments, and was about to get rocked by the Covid-19 pandemic like the rest of the world. Ahead of its second-quarter earnings release on Wednesday, investors and analysts are expecting Shiseido to miss expectations once again as the company continues to grapple in the short term with global tariffs and sales slowdowns in the US and Japan. They're also looking for evidence of a turnaround in progress. Shiseido has significantly restructured itself in the past five years, winnowing its global workforce from 48,000 to 33,000 and shedding brands it acquired during a more optimistic time. Even its crown jewel, the ultra luxe line Clé de Peau, is in flux, and now shares a team with brand Shiseido, according to multiple sources. Another source close to the brand insisted the two remain distinct entities. Shiseido did not respond to a request for comment owing to a pre-earnings quiet period. These cost reduction efforts are a 'key discussion point from investors,' said Oliver Matthews, an analyst at investment bank CLSA who covers Shiseido. 'The question is, is it enough? Or something that still requires more work?' Beyond operational issues, the company needs to carve out a definitive place in the global beauty world order. Early in the pandemic, the conglomerate pegged its recovery on the belief that prestige makeup sales would pick back up before it swiftly introduced a new mandate to become the world's number one skin health company. A focus on skincare could lead Shiseido to victory. But in its quest for global domination, it has turned away from its core market. 42 percent of the company's net sales came from Japan in 2017; today, it's 29 percent. Shiseido's difficulty conquering the world's biggest beauty market, the US, paired with its struggles closer to home, suggest that the company's current focus may be too far-reaching. 'Another question is, to what degree should they, in fact, invest in the US and Europe?' Matthews wondered. 'Or should they just focus on their right to win in Asia?' Lost in Translation It is both telling and paradoxical that the best-selling luxury Japanese skincare in the US comes from a brand with little authentic Japanese heritage at all; Tatcha, launched in 2009. The brand's Taiwanese-American founder Vicky Tsai was inspired by the beauty habits of Japanese geisha performers, who blotted their faces with oil-wicking papers and cleansed their makeup with featherweight camellia oil. Tatcha became a hit at Sephora, and sold to Unilever in 2019 for an estimated $500 million. ADVERTISEMENT Shiseido's most successful brands with global appeal are Clé de Peau, which takes pains to look more French than Japanese, and mainline Shiseido, which just launched a $145 serum with whole camellias from the Gotoh Islands. Young consumers don't know Clé de Peau, and may only recognise Shiseido from accompanying their mothers to department store counters, where they themselves would never shop, preferring instead to visit Sephora. This inability to connect with younger consumers, and a desire to win in specialty retail, was largely the inspiration behind Shiseido's 2019 blockbuster purchase of Drunk Elephant, a skincare label with a premium positioning that scaled to a near billion dollar brand without rare botanicals or century and a half-old heritage. But Drunk Elephant was caught up in a now-cautionary tale, becoming quickly adored by Sephora tweens who later moved on to cheaper, more age-appropriate brands. Sales dropped 65 percent in 2024, pulling Shiseido's US earnings with it. Over the past five years, as long as Drunk Elephant has been in the business, Shiseido Americas has cycled through CEOs. There was Marc Rey, who oversaw the Drunk Elephant acquisition, unloaded the three makeup acquisitions to private equity firm Advent International and then resigned in 2020; followed by Ron Gee, the Americas CFO who took over his role until this year, when he was replaced by EMEA CEO Alberto Noé. Poor management aside, the Drunk Elephant episode was 'a strategic misstep,' Butt said. Earlier this year the company announced it would pivot the brand in a more clinical direction, but it remains to be seen if alienated customers will return. Nars has been left to thrive — its Radiant Creamy Concealer is the number one best-selling concealer at Sephora — but it's an open question what will happen to the brand under Shiseido's skin-focussed regime. 'They would like to replicate that initial success with more of their portfolio, but I get the feeling that's an organisational capability, not something you can easily buy,' Matthews said, adding that anchoring its global strategy around acquisitions like L'Oréal has not panned out. Slow to Move Quick Shiseido's greatest asset is its remarkable heritage. Founded in 1872 in Tokyo as a pharmacy that stocked medicines from the global West, the company is arguably the oldest beauty conglomerate in the world. (Procter & Gamble was established in 1808, but didn't mint a beauty product until it launched Ivory soap in 1879.) Despite local competition with Kao and Kosé Corporations, there is no bigger brand name in Japanese beauty than Shiseido. While its home country continues to be the brightest spot in Shiseido's regional overviews, and has been bolstered slightly by the weaker yen and influx of tourists, makeup sales are softening fast: Japan's market is favouring 'daily goods' like groceries or personal care products, wrote Morgan Stanley analyst Wakako Sato in July, with cosmetics 'seeing a surprisingly rapid slowdown in inbound demand.' China's trend toward discounting, and travel retail's continued struggles, both point to issues for Shiseido, said Matthews. But it also has too many brands in its home country, which contributes a smaller and smaller percentage of its global sales. Shiseido's strengths are in its prestige lines like Elixir, which is gaining in China, and Clé de Peau. Both are luxury brands not known for their viral moments or TikTok appeal. Other lines, like the reasonably-priced, sensitive skin-focussed Ihada could be easily transplanted into foreign markets with the power of Shiseido's brand name. ADVERTISEMENT Contrast Shiseido with Kao Corporation, which does the lion's share of its business in Japan but is pushing overseas in buzzy categories like sunscreen — its brand Bioré, known for its watery hero sunscreen, launched into the US in 2024, and is ramping up its foreign manufacturing capabilities in the US, Spain and Germany. Bioré is better primed to compete with popular sunscreens like Beauty of Joseon's Relief Sun ($14) or Ultra Violette's Future Screen ($34) than Shiseido, whose range of sunscreens hover around $50. Shisiedo's Korean peer Amorepacific maintains department store presence via labels such as Sulwhasoo, but its lower-priced lines like Laneige and Innisfree have made a bigger splash overseas. 'All of [Shiseido's] innovation is quite expensive,' Butt said, noting the wave of customer preference toward inexpensive products. 'But they're harming themselves by not having something to occupy that entry-prestige, masstige price point.' The beauty industry has changed faster than anticipated, a fact Shiseido's board has acknowledged: Chairman Yoshihiko Hatanaka, an external director appointed in 2024, cited the company's efforts toward 'dismantling outdated structures that could not adapt to market shifts,' in a dialogue last year. The world's oldest beauty company, remaking itself from within. How long could that take? Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day's most important beauty and wellness news and analysis.
